


Starchaser

by TheDoomkitten



Series: Starchaser [1]
Category: Kingdom Hearts, Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Crossover, Destiny Islands Focus, Friendship and All That Good Stuff, Gen, Lighter and Softer Reboot, Rascal Kairi, Riku and Sora Are Barely-Teenage Boys Unfortunately, Slice of Life, Still Understandable if You're Only in One of the Fandoms
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-31
Updated: 2020-02-07
Packaged: 2021-02-25 09:13:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22493626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheDoomkitten/pseuds/TheDoomkitten
Summary: After a mysterious calamity befalls Beach City, Connie Maheswaran finds herself on the idyllic Destiny Islands. Thankfully, local rascal Kairi and her friends are there to help her adjust to her new life—and maybe help her find a way home.
Relationships: Kairi & Riku & Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Kairi (Kingdom Hearts) & Connie Maheswaran
Series: Starchaser [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1626568
Comments: 30
Kudos: 43





	1. Like a Comet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some of you may remember another fic named Starchaser from back in early 2018 with the exact same premise and written by the exact same author: Beach City is wrecked, Connie ends up on the islands, makes friends with the local trio, and things meander on to canon from there. Then, after reaching Traverse Town, it got deleted off the internet for apparently no reason, along with most of my other works. Due to an immense shame in a perceived character assassination of Connie, one of my favorite characters, and some of my personal issues at the time, I threw a fit and got rid of most of my fic.
> 
> After I came to my senses some time later, I realized that the premise still had a lot of merit, and there were plenty of concepts and plots in this universe that I still wanted to explore. Then a year after that, I got off my ass and started actually rewriting the first chapter. Six months after that, I finally jumped the last mental block and finished it. And so here we are, with a different take on Connie's reaction to the events of the night she left Beach City and an overall different tone. If you enjoyed the previous iteration of Starchaser, I hope you enjoy this one as well.

The soft light of the full moon shone down on the island. It wove between treetops, ruffled the feathers of seagulls, and danced on the ocean breeze before finally blanketing the entire town in its presence. The light pooled in a copse just outside of the village, nestling in a clearing within the tiny stand of palm trees.

A low growl shook the wide leaves of the palms, sending a rat scuttling away from its nest. The rumble slowly built towards a crescendo, becoming a roar that threatened to snap the trees in half. Pinpricks of light appeared, dancing and twirling in the magical gale. A blindingly bright fissure scythed through the sky, sizzling with cosmic energy as reality groaned with pain. With an earsplitting crack, the rift snapped open, revealing a cosmos crumbling apart.

Trees broke under the force. Windows shattered. 

A girl that seemed insignificant compared to the forces being unleashed flew out of the portal, crashing into the damp sand of the beach completely limp. The breach in reality disappeared, the wind stopped howling, and she laid still.

Villagers, awoken by the noise, trickled from their homes to gather at the edge of town. The susurrus of their speculation ground to a halt when one of their number finally found the courage to walk over to the child lying in the sand. Her dark brown skin was covered in scratches, a bruise was forming over one of her eyes, blood matted her bob of wavy black hair, and one of her arms was twisted at an unnatural angle from the fall.

Preparing himself for the worst, he knelt, pressing two fingers to her neck. 

"She's alive!"

* * *

"'Scuse me! Sorry! Coming through!" Sora dashed through the crowds in the market, colliding with strangers and crashing into vibrant cloth-covered stalls left and right. He was late.

Well, he wasn't late  _ per se _ . Riku and Kairi hadn't strictly scheduled their summer fun. That would be against the spirit of the thing, after all. But it was agreed that whoever got to the docks last was the one who'd have to work the bow seat. 

And it looked like Sora was going to be stuck rowing the front oars. Again. At least he had last night's commotion interrupting his repose to blame for his drowsiness this time around, not just his tendency to sleep in.

The savory scent of sauteed mushroom and shallot kebabs stopped Sora in his tracks. He was going to be late anyways, so why not grab a few snacks? Plus, if he brought some for Riku and Kairi, he might be able to beg off bow duty. 

Sora turned on his heel, stumbled, and clapped his hands on the counter. "Three kebabs, please!"

The vendor raised an eyebrow, bemused. "Not until you show me the money. Plus what you owe me."

"Aw, c'mon, Farna! Don't you trust me?"

"After you ran off with two cups of coconut milk without giving me so much a single coin? No."

"I swear, I was going to pay, I was just late for school!"

"Yeah, yeah. That'll be seven ila, you gremlin." 

Grumbling, Sora fished the stone coins out of his pocket and slid them over the counter. "That should do it, right?"

"Mhm." They scooped up the payment off of the counter and stashed it in a drawer. "How’s the rest of your gang doing? Haven’t seen much of you guys around recently.”

“Kairi’s been hounding us about getting that school project done, and Riku’s been working out like a maniac. We’ve been exploring the island a lot, too.” Sora shrugged. “You know, the usual.”

“Isn’t thirteen a  _ little  _ young to be hitting the gym that hard? I swear that he could already bench-press me if he tried hard enough, he doesn’t need to be even more cartoonishly strong.”

“He might be overcompensating for what happened a few weeks ago.”

“Oh?”

“Me, Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie all tried to knock him off the island after he dared us to fight him all at once. He was actually doing pretty well… until Kairi got off the paopu tree and shoved him into the water. She gave him a huge lecture about his ‘overinflated ego’ afterwards. Whatever that means.” Sora snickered.

Farna laughed with Sora. “Hah! Good on her. Somebody needed to try and knock some sense into him. Doubt it’ll ever work, though." There was a brief pause as the vendor deposited the ila in the register. “Did you hear about what happened last night?"

"Hear what?"

"A girl fell from the sky."

Sora giggled, shaking his head. "That's old news."

"No, I'm serious." Farna handed over the food and continued. "There was this big explosion in the grove, a few trees got knocked down, and some poor kid was lying unconscious right in the middle of it. She was in rough shape, too. Torn clothes, broken arm, bruised to the Realm and back, face all scratched up, cold as ice..."

"Yeesh." Sora hissed through his teeth. "Is she gonna be okay?"

"Probably. The doc’s patching her up, and the mayor’s supposed to take custody once she has a clean bill of health. Alen is the only one who has experience with this kind of thing, after all." Farna waved Sora away from their stall. “Now shoo. Enjoy your summer vacation."

"You too!" Sora ran past the edge of the courtyard that the market inhabited, hurtling through winding backstreets, between clay houses, and past glowing signs loudly advertising this or that before finally arriving at the docks. Riku and Kairi were already there, making a big show of checking their nonexistent watches.

"You're late," Riku said as Sora slowed to a stop, clutching his knees.

Sora shot him a dirty look as he panted. "No... you're just... early."

"What you are is a lazybones," Kairi quipped, grinning. "Now, get rowing. If we wait any longer, we won't have time to prepare our counterattack to that stunt Tidus and Wakka pulled. I'm still finding bits of seaweed in my hair, you know! I don’t care what those two say, it was a terrible twelfth birthday present."

"Um, I’m  _ really _ tired. Couldn’t get any sleep last night from all the, uh. Noise. So could one of you take up the bow today?” He was met with dead silence. Sora grinned sheepishly and held up the kebabs. “I brought food?"

"Bribery isn’t going to work.” Riku snatched one of the snacks as he hopped onto the boat. “But the gift is appreciated." 

"Fiiiiiiiiiine," Sora moaned as he clambered in, handing the second kebab to Kairi. She chomped down on a mushroom before climbing in herself, Sora groaning under the strain of rowing the front oars. 

"So,” Kairi said around a mouthful of mushroom as she started rowing, “what do you think all that stuff last night was about?" 

"I figure that it was just another accident at the glow factory. You know how that place goes up sometimes," Riku replied.

"Oooh, I know! Farna told me another girl fell from the sky!" Sora said between pulls.

Riku rolled his eyes. "You're so gullible."

"Well, did you know that the explosion happened at one of the palm groves, not the factory?"

"Really?"

"Yeah!"

"That’s still crazy. I'm sure-"

Kairi pursed her lips. "I don't know, Riku. I mean, it happened once, right? Were there any shooting stars last night? There were a bunch when I fell."

"Hm." Riku furrowed his brow. "Yeah, actually. I think I spotted one before I went to bed."

"I told you!" Sora said. "Maybe she's a princess from another world. Like you, Kairi!"

She stuck her tongue out, laughing. "I've told you a million times, I'm not a princess."

"You are, though!"

Riku smirked. "I think I'm going to have to agree with Sora on this one."

"Shush, you two."

"You're blushing!" Sora teased.

Kairi's cheeks reddened further. "No I'm not!" Trying to steer the conversation away from the boys’ teasing, Kairi said, "I think that she's some kind of space warrior, who evacuated from her ship before her enemies could capture her."

"And she's searching for some lost superweapon, the key to saving her planet from invaders," Sora chimed in.

In a low, serious tone, Riku said, "It lies somewhere on our island, just waiting to be discovered."

Kairi's eyes lit up. "I mean, since we don't really have anything else to do today, we might as well go look for it, right? If we do her a favor, we could get some kind of cool alien treasure."

"I'm in!" Sora said.

Riku nodded. "I guess I'll tag along, yeah."

"Then it's agreed. After we get some payback on Tidus and Wakka, we're going treasure hunting!" Laughing the rest of the way, the three children slowly rode along the waves to their very own island, home to dozens of never-found treasures and hundreds more fantastical quests.

It was like summer would never end.

* * *

Alas, there was no treasure to be found on the island. But the trio did discover a few really cool rocks and got revenge on Tidus and Wakka, so the day wasn’t a total wash. Kairi even managed to badger the boys into rowing home early so they could make some progress on their summer homework. 

Kairi ignored Sora’s complaining and Riku’s sullen silence on the trip back. At least that’s what she appeared to be doing. In truth, Kairi was too preoccupied with the events of the night before to trade barbs with the boys.

She hardly remembered anything about her home, or what happened to it. Only brief flashes of memory surfacing in her dreams offered any insight into the events of that night—and with what little she’d gleaned from those visions of crawling blackness, beady yellow eyes, and hearts drifting into the dark sky, Kairi was almost glad that she had no recollection of what transpired on the day the stars tumbled from the sky.

And now that another girl had come on the islands, her arrival marked by another shooting star, Kairi couldn’t help but worry about what that could mean. So wrapped up in her thoughts, Kairi didn’t even notice her feet had carried her back into the mayor’s villa until a frustrated yell coming from the library broke her out of her reverie. 

Frozen for a moment, Kairi briefly wondered just who the  _ heck  _ that was before breaking into a sprint towards the library. It couldn’t be mayor or any of her staff, the voice was too young for that. It didn’t sound like any of Kairi’s school buddies, who occasionally dropped by to peruse her mom’s library. Most people who came to talk with the mayor on official business weren’t allowed past the office. That eliminated pretty much everybody on the island, so who could it possibly be?

Kairi slid into the library, panting and looking through the stacks for source of the yell. An annoyed murmur coming from the history and science section caught her ear, and she immediately turned towards the sound. A brown-skinned girl around Kairi’s age sat on the floor, back against a bookshelf as she flipped through a thick tome with one hand while the other was cradled in a sling. 

"This just doesn't make sense," the new girl groused, pinching the bridge of her nose as she leaned against the bookshelf with a leather bound tome depicting the old star maps splayed across her lap. "How does an entirely different world in an entirely different part of the galaxy have the exact same star charts as Beach City? No, scratch that, h-" She startled, finally noticing Kairi. "Oh. Hello." 

"Hi!" The two stood at an impasse for a few moments, staring at one another, before Kairi settled on one of her many, many questions. “Er. What are you doing here?” 

She raised an eyebrow. “...Reading?”

“I mean in the house.”

“Moving in. Apparently.”

What in the world? (Or out of it, as Kairi was beginning to suspect.) “Whuh.”

“I’m just as confused as you are, trust me.” She offered Kairi a wry smile. “I mean, I don’t really have any other place to stay on account of crashing into the island like a comet,” she snorted, as if laughing at a private joke, “but I’m puzzled as to why the richest person here would bother taking me in.”

“So you’re the girl that fell from space last night.” Kairi wasn’t at all surprised. 

“I wouldn’t really call it space, per se. It had too much breathable air for that. But... yes.”

“Well, my mom is a  _ huge _ softie. I don’t think she couldn’t not resist adopting-“

The other girl bristled slightly. “Adoption would imply my parents are dead or unable to properly care for me, and they definitely aren’t either of those things.”

“-taking in another lost star girl. Anyways,” Kairi cocked her head to the side and smiled, extending a hand towards the other girl. “If you’re living with us, it’s probably a good idea for me to introduce myself. I’m Kairi!”

She inspected Kairi's hand for a few moments as if it were a fascinating alien artifact before taking it and shaking it firmly. (Wow, Kairi had  _ not  _ expected Connie to have such a strong grip.) “Connie.”

“No, I said my name’s Kairi.” She pouted at Connie, shaking her head as she sat on the reading table in front of Connie. “Geez, were you listening to me at all?”

That provoked a small laugh from Connie. “That’s  _ my  _ name, dummy.”

“I thought your name was Connie, not Kairi.”

Connie giggled again. “Okay, okay. My name is Connie Maheswaran. Is that specific enough for you?”

“Hmmmm. That’ll do for now, I think.”

“Good, because if you asked again I would’ve begun to suspect you were some sort of fae out to steal my true name.”

Kairi had no idea what that meant. “And what is your middle name, out of curiosity?” But it wouldn’t hurt to play along. 

Connie smirked, crossing her one good arm over her sling. “You can’t trick me that easily, foul fiend!”

“Really? Foul? Wow, that’s hurtful.”

Flinching almost imperceptibly, Connie fidgeted with her fingers and said, “I, uh-“

Oh no. “I was kidding, dumb-dumb! If I was really mad, I woulda socked you in the arm.”

“...on my good one or my bad one?” The tension left Connie’s shoulders, but some of Kairi’s worry remained. 

“I don’t have to answer that. I have to admit, though, I’m curious; where did you get all that name mumbo jumbo from?”

“Do you want me to explain an hour’s worth of cultural context, or-“

Kairi sprang to her feet. “Allow me to give you the grand tour!”

“Okay then.”

After she pulled Connie up, Kairi gestured towards the door with an ostentatious flourish. “Shall we?”

“Give me a moment.” Connie squinted at the bookshelf, carefully tracing each book’s spine with her index finger before finding the minuscule gap in the densely-packed shelf and jamming the book she had been reading inside. “ _ Now _ I’m ready.”

“Then let us begin.” Kairi led Connie on a whirlwind tour through the villa. While its three stories combined were larger than most other houses on the island, the building was just as quaint and cozy as the rest of the town. 

When they arrived in Kairi’s room—now with a sleeping bag on the floor for Connie’s use until something more permanent could be arranged—Kairi sat on her bed, sighing contentedly. In all the excitement of getting a new roommate, her muscles almost let her forget the exertions of a full day hard at play on her friends’ islet. “Sooo. What do you think?”

“Of your room or the house?” Connie sat next to Kairi, staring out the window that overlooked the sea. The setting sun painted a brilliant vista of warm hues on the water, creating mesmerizing patterns that drew in the eye. 

“Both?”

“Your room is very messy.”

“Hey, my mom already gets on my case about it all the time, I don’t need my new bunk buddy piling on me too.”

“You don’t have a bunk.”

“It’s a figure of speech.”

“The only figures I see around here are the action figures I nearly stepped on four times when I walked in here.”

“Ha, ha.”

“Seriously, you have got to pick those up. If I step on a needlessly sturdy two-inch plastic sword when I get up in the morning, the consequences will be dire.” Kairi got the distinct impression that Connie was only half-joking. 

Yet that wasn’t what was on Kairi’s mind as she looked at Connie’s twiddling fingers and wandering gaze. “What about the house?”

“It’s, uh.” Connie rubbed the back of her neck, eyes flitting to lock with Kairi’s for a half second before darting away just as quickly. “It’s nice, I guess.” There was a moment of silence as the two struggled to find words that could sail the conversation out of the dead silence it was adrift in. Finally, Connie spoke up. “...you said ‘ _ another  _ lost star girl’ back in the library. Are you-“

“From another world, like you? Yep.” 

“What was it like for you? Adjusting to... all of this, I mean.”

Kairi entered a staring contest with the floor. “I came here when I was really little, so I don’t really remember much about my world. I didn’t need to adjust, I don’t think. The islands are my home; not some far off world that I can’t even remember.” A few more seconds of silence passed. “You arrived last night, right? It... must be rough.”

“Yeah. I’m still processing what happened, really.” Connie sighed, neck drooping. “Everyone must be so worried about me! Suddenly disappearing when everything was going upside-down and sideways is bound to-“

“And what about you?”

Connie startled. “Huh?”

“How do you feel about all of this? Other than bad, of course. That’s a given, I think.”

“I... I already miss them.” Connie flopped backwards, moving up in the staring contest with inanimate objects bracket to a battle with the ceiling. “I’ve barely had time to accept that this is all actually happening and not some elaborate dream, so now...”

“It’s starting to actually hurt?”

“Yeah.” More silence. More contemplation. “Your house is nice, but it isn’t home.” Kairi stayed quiet. “And it’s never going to be home; not for me. No offense. I have people back on Earth. I still need to- I. I just need to find a way home. I can’t give up on that yet.”

“I’ll help you,” Kairi said without hesitation. 

“Whuh.”

“Nobody on the island knows more about traveling the worlds than you and me! Granted, I don’t really remember any of it, but I still have more experience than most.” Kairi looked down, grinning widely at Connie. “Two heads are better than one, right?”

“...thanks, Kairi. I doubt that we’ll be able to build a functioning warp-capable spaceship by ourselves, but-“

“We’ll never know unless we try! I might not be super smart like I think you are, but I think I can at least handle the heavy lifting.” Kairi flexed her meager biceps, earning another snicker from Connie. “Now, c’mon. If you’re serious about this, we need to start making plans before we go to bed.”

“You know more about how this place works than me.” Connie pulled herself upright, retrieving a notebook and pencil from out of nowhere. “So why don’t you start the brainstorming.”

“First of all, I know a few other kids who might want to help...”


	2. Stance Wide, Body Lowered

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wahoo, I was on time! Forgive me for the lackluster prose, I just wanted to get this one out.

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?"

Kairi rolled her eyes. "Like I said, she's the girl from space." Connie smiled awkwardly next to Kairi and waved at Sora and Riku. The boys had gone to all the trouble of racing to the pier only to find Connie and Kairi yattering next to a sailboat; a far cry from the rowboat they usually borrowed when they went out to the islet. 

"I thought she'd have- uh, I don't know, antenna or something?" Sora zipped around Connie, inspecting her tip to toe. It would've been uncomfortable if he wasn't so innocently earnest.

Snorting, Kairi said, "Do I have an antenna, Sora?"

"I- maybe! I don't know?  _ Have _ you been hiding a secret antenna from us all this time, Kairi?"

"No comment."

"If you have an antenna, you have to tell me!"

"Under the Intragalactic Accords Section 413 Article 612 Paragraph 1025, she doesn't," Connie chimed in. Normally, Connie had trouble quipping with strangers like this, but something about Sora and Kairi was... different. 

Sora gasped theatrically. "That definitely sounds like something somebody with an antenna would say!"

"That's specist, Sora. Not all aliens have antenna."

"Not you too, Kairi?"

Connie couldn't fight back against the smile that was slowly creeping onto her face. "Yeah, Sora, geez. Way to be insensitive." 

As they bantered, Riku leveled his gaze at Connie, arching an eyebrow. She quirked hers up in return, as if to say,  _ "What's your problem?"  _ Riku shrugged. 

"I think the more relevant question is how you got ahold of  _ that _ ." Rikuk gestured towards the sailboat. "I'm surprised, Kairi. I never took you as someone to turn to piracy. Is Connie being a bad influence on you?"

"I didn't steal it, dummy." Huffing, Kairi crossed her arms. "It's just that until Connie's arm gets better, she can't pull her weight on the rowboat. But she does know how to work the sails-"

"In theory." Connie couldn't stress how hypothetical her skills with sail rigging were enough. 

"-so my mom agreed to let us borrow it until Connie can row herself. If we're taking her along, we'd need a bigger boat anyways."

It was common knowledge around the island that Kairi didn't have an ounce of deceit in her body. She'd probably spontaneously combust if she tried to tell a lie. So when Kairi had asked her mother if she could borrow one of her boats so they could ferry a new friend to the islet, the mayor hadn't batted an eye at the request. Even though Kairi didn't specify whether it was one of the smaller dinghies or a sailboat.

"Waitwaitwait. You're bringing her?" Sora's eyes nearly bugged out of his face.

"...why would I go to all the trouble of getting us a sailboat and bringing her here otherwise?"

Sora raised his index finger, paused, then lowered it. "I... guess that makes sense, yeah." Smiling brilliantly, he extended a hand to Connie. "Then welcome to the crew, Con- oh WOW you have a strong grip" 

"Well. I suppose we should get going." Riku stretched, then clambered on to the boat. The others followed, Kairi helping Connie as she struggled with her broken arm. The group chattered as they sailed to the islet on the horizon; Sora and Kairi drove the conversation, drawing Connie into their warm banter with ease while Riku remained stoic, staring at the ocean. Despite the difficulties Connie usually had engaging with near-perfect strangers, Sora was so exuberant that it was easy getting into a comfortable, wisecracking rhythm with him. Kairi helped, of course. Having her there was familiar in a way that Connie couldn't quite place. 

It turned out that Connie actually was halfway competent with sail rigging despite her lack of practical experience, so they got to the island with no snags. Once everyone tumbled into the soft sand of the beach (to be more accurate, Sora tumbled, Riku jumped, nearly blinded himself by looking directly into the sun, and took a hard fall, and Kairi and Connie helped one another down while laughing uproariously at the boys' antics). 

"Is Riku normally like this?" Connie whispered to Kairi, eyes darting to where Riku stood, staring at the ocean. Again.

"Like what?"

"Extra?"

"Oh, no. He's a dramatic goofball, but this is over the top even for him. You should be flattered, I think he's trying to impress you."

"Is trying to look thoughtful while gazing deep into the water the only way he knows how to be cool?"

"Yes." Connie and Kairi erupted into another fit of laughter. Riku struggled not to blush. 

"I can't believe you have this entire island to yourself." Connie spun around, drinking in every detail of the lush scenery. The verdant greenery growing in between the rocks that gave the island structure, the sugar-colored sand, the titanic trees... it all came together to form a breathtaking picture of natural beauty, despite the amateurish wooden scaffolding that covered the island. "I figured that this entire place would be absolutely crawling with other kids, but it's completely empty."

"Well, Wakka and his friends come over on the weekends, but you're right. It's just us," Riku explained, finally giving up on the act and slouching over to the rest of the group.

"This place is only a twenty minute row from the main island at most, why-"

Sora popped up in front of Connie, attempting his best approximation of a spooky grin. Which was more ridiculous than anything else. "It's because the island is  _ haunted _ ."

"...really. That's it?"

"Yeah. There's all kinds of ghost stories!" Sora cradled the back of his head with his hands as the four kids walked down the beach. "I mean, me and Riku were really scared of coming here too, until Kairi called us weenies-"

"She called you a weenie, not me."

Kairi tapped her chin,  _ hmmmming  _ loudly. "No, you were totally being a weenie too."

Riku harrumphed, crossed his arms, and pouted. 

" _ As I was saying _ , this place has a reputation. Some kids disappeared decades ago while hanging out here and bam, suddenly nobody wants to come! It was ripe for the taking, and it wasn't scary at all when we finally came here, so we decided to keep it for ourselves."

"The only reason why you came here in the first place is that I practically dragged you two by the ear when we were young so we can check out the place that I fell. Both of you were quaking in your boots when we first explored the first time."

"Did not!" Riku and Sora said in unison.

"Did too."

Before the conversation could devolve into an infinite loop of childish comebacks, Connie interrupted the other three. "So what do you do for fun around here?"

"Lots of stuff." Sora brightened (was that even possible when he was perpetually cheerful) and began ticking activities off on his fingers. "We explore, no duh, swim—if you manage to catch a fish you can sell it on the market for a lot of ila!—race, swordfight-"

"Hold on. You guys  _ spar _ ?" Connie couldn't resist the smile spreading across her face. It had been almost two months since she had the chance to have a real practice session with someone else. Maybe suddenly getting isekai'd had its advantages; Connie had been longing for a proper chance to work out her frustrations with a sword in hand arm or no arm. 

And of course Riku had to ruin her mood. "Yeah. I doubt you could keep up with us, though." 

"I fight with a one-handed grip anyways, my balance might be a bit iffy at first but I'm pretty sure I'll-"

"There's no way you can keep up with us. 'Specially considering your current state, and, well..."

"Well what?"

"You're a girl."

Despite the sunny day, the temperature around the four kids immediately dropped by five degrees. " _ Excuse me. _ "

"I just don't want you to get hurt even more than you already are."

Never had Connie wanted to throttle someone harder than she did now. "I can handle myself, thank you very much."

"Iunno, Riku. Maybe we should at least let her try? What can it hurt?" Sora scratched his head. 

"I don't know how you played back home, but around here, we go hard. I doubt you have the skills-"

"No, no. I get your point." Connie smiled sweetly. "I should at least watch how you two spar before jumping in."

"...fine. C'mon, Sora. Let's show her how it's done."

Sora, completely failing to read the room, perked up like a puppy who just heard his name. "Okey-dokey!"

The boys raced each other to the shack nestled against a raised platform next to the waterfall. Connie followed close behind, muttering darkly under her breath as Kairi trailed behind her. 

"I'm sorry. I think this is my fault." Kairi looked away, rubbing her arm.

"How is Riku being an idiot your fault?!"

Kairi sighed. "Well, I actually used to spar with them too."

"Then it's especially dumb that-"

"Shhh. Then they hit puberty, like. Freakishly early. Have you  _ seen _ Riku's arms? A thirteen year-old has no right being that strong. And Sora... well, it wasn't nearly as dramatic as Riku, but the both of them started to outpace me. By a lot. It stopped being fun pretty quickly. I just couldn't win, so I quit." Frowning, Kairi opened the door to the shack and began to walk up the stairs to the upper level of the island. The interior of the ramshackle building was cool, dark, and damp, a welcome contrast to the summer heat outside. "Pretty much the only other girl they know is Selphie, and she's not exactly a hardened warrior either. And since Riku is a lot stronger than Sora, too, it's... kinda gone to his head. Because of me, he-"

Connie shook her head, hair whipping back and forth. "No. No no no. If they think all girls are weak because they won the biological lottery, that's on them, not you. I'll be sure to teach them a lesson." she opened the door at the top of the steps, and her jaw immediately dropped. "What in the..."

On the mini-islet across from the platform Connie and Kairi stood on, Sora launched himself almost double his height into the air to avoid Riku's horizontal slice. As he fell towards Riku, a sheath of blue light wrapped itself around his practice sword, which erupted into a pulse of cyan energy as Riku casually raised his own sword, which was trailed by an angry red glow, to block it. 

Riku disengaged, sliding away from Sora in blatant defiance of friction, then charged back towards his friend. While Sora and Riku clashed, Connie turned towards Kairi, dazed. "What- Why- I-  _ How _ are they doing that?" she sputtered.

Kairi cocked her head to the side. "You can't?"

"I... hm." Bracing herself, Connie gathered up all the strength in her legs and leaped as high as she could, clearing more than five feet. "Apparently I can." Maybe this world had a slightly lower gravity than Earth and she just hadn't noticed until now? But that still wouldn't explain the way they were slapping each other silly with planks of wood and hardly seemed to get hurt, let alone the way that shonen-style special effects popped up when they were fighting. "But back home, we definitely didn't have... all of that."

"All of what?"

"The glowy stuff."

"You mean the glow?"

"...it's literally called the glow?"

"What else should we call it?"

"Fair point. But seriously, what is that stuff?"

"Well... hm. It's kinda complicated. Whenever something goes fast enough, it creates- well, the glow!"

"So does the  _ glow _ do anything, or does it just look pretty?"

"It's what powers the island, for one thing."

Connie blinked owlishly. "What."

"Glow makes machines work and stuff."

"I... okay." Connie rubbed her face. That was a lot to take in. "Putting aside the implications of all of that, how are they hitting each other that hard without seriously hurting themselves?"

"I think it has something to do with the glow? Like, everybody has a bit of natural glow that you normally can't see, and that sorta blunts the impact. But other than that... yeah, I have no clue."

"Okay." Connie took a deep breath. "Thanks for the exposition. Now... can you get your old sword for me, please?"

"What? Can't you borrow-" Kairi paused as she processed what Connie was saying, then her eyes widened. "You're... there's no way."

"I can do it. Trust me." Connie flashed a smile at Kairi.

"I..." Taking a deep breath, Kairi nodded. "Okay." Without another word, she scampered back into the shack to root around for her old sword. 

Riku strode across the bridge, resting his sword across his shoulders and wearing the most insufferable grin Connie had ever seen. "Well? Like I told you, we're-"

"I'll take you both on."

"Whuh."

Sora clambered back on to the platform, every inch of him soaking wet, just in time to hear Connie's challenge. "WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?"

"You heard me."

"You can't be serious-" Riku protested. 

"I am."

Riku crossed his arms, pondering. "...well, I can respect the intent behind the gesture, at least. So fine."

"Riku, are you sure? That seems kinda... mean," Sora said, scratching his cheek. 

"I'm the one who asked. Trust me, I'll be okay."

Sora sighed. "Alright, alright. Let me just dry off first." As Sora wringed the water out of his hair (the rest of his clothes dried remarkably quickly, perhaps because of the glow), Kairi stumbled out of the shack and handed Connie her sword.

"Thanks, Kairi." Connie tested it with a few practice swings. It was barely anything more than two wooden boards crudely nailed together. Its balance was horrible, the grip was misshapen, and it was a wonder that the sword hadn't already fallen apart. But it was enough. "Let's go." Taking a deep breath, Connie walked towards the mini-islet, the others following behind her. 

Kairi sat on the oddly horizontal trunk of one of the trees, while Riku took up position ten paces away from her and Sora did the same from the opposite side. "Good luck, Connie!" Kairi cheered, smiling despite the worry evident on her face. 

"At the risk of sounding cliche, I don't think I'll need it." Connie winked at her, and Riku's stony expression hardened. "Ready when you are, chiefs."

"On my mark," Riku said. 

"Three." Deep breath. 

"Two." In. 

"One." Out. 

" _ Now. _ " Begin. 

Riku rushed towards Connie, stride even and confident. He wound up for a sideways cleave, clearly intending to knock Connie across the island in a single blow. (What an amateur. With telegraphing that blatant, it was mind-boggling to Connie how he'd managed to keep beating Sora.) From behind her, Connie could hear Sora sprinting, nearly tripping over himself every few steps. (No doubt with his sword raised high above his head judging by his spar with Riku. On second thought, Connie could totally see how Riku had kept up his winning streak.)

Deep breaths. In, out. Then Connie sprung into action. She skipped backwards, careening towards Sora. He flinched. That was all that she needed. Connie dug one of her heels into the ground, the sand spraying into Sora's eyes, then struck at Sora with a lightning-quick back kick. Her heel slammed into his unprotected stomach. Sora coughed. As he stumbled back, each of his footfalls came closer and closer to slipping.

A split second after Connie planted her foot back on solid ground, Riku arrived. It was trivial to knock his sword to the side, the crack of wood on wood resounding across the platform. Connie's blade raked across his torso, the blunt edge of her sword creating an explosion of light as it clashed against whatever forcefield was protecting him. Then again on the backswing. Riku reeled. 

Connie coiled like a spring, then  _ jumped _ , bringing Riku with her into the air with a forceful upswing. His head snapped back. Connie bashed her shoulder into his chest, rolled him over her back, and used the momentum from a graceful flip to propel him towards Sora. 

Riku crashed into Sora just as the other boy lost his footing. There was nothing to anchor either of them to the ground. Or prevent them from flying backwards, sending both Riku and Sora hurtling off the edge of the platform. At the very last moment, Riku clung on to the edge by the barest inch, Sora hanging on to his legs for dear life. Connie had to admit, that was some impressive grip strength.

"Riiiiikuuuu! Please don't let me fall please don't let me fall please don't- whoops." In his flailing, Sora let go of Riku, and he plummeted back into the ocean for the second time in less than five minutes. 

Freed of Sora's dead weight, Riku heaved himself back up on the mini-islet. "I admit, I underes-"

Connie didn't give him a chance to finish his apology. With a booming kiai, Connie lunged at Riku. She slashed at his legs. Darted past his guard. Jabbed at his stomach. Swung at his arms, then spun to attack his neck. Slice, jump, block, block, dodge, parry, riposte- For every attack Riku blocked, two more slipped past him and cracked his aegis. Every time that he dared to try and strike back, Connie was ready with a counter.

Riku didn't last ten seconds. Connie's downward smash forced him to one knee. With a burst of purple light, a shimmering forcefield appeared, wrapped around every inch of his body. Then it shattered, leaving him totally unprotected. 

The match was less than twenty seconds long.

Panting, Riku struggled to get to his feet. Connie extended a hand, and after taking a solid five seconds to assess the gesture, Riku took it. She pulled him up with ease. "Point taken," he admitted between labored breaths.

Kairi stared at Connie for a few moments, totally dumbfounded. Then she shattered the silence with a high-pitched squee that was quickly joined by Sora's as he flopped back on to the platform. "OhMyGoshYouWereAmazingHowDidYouMoveLikeThat-"

Sora joined in on the rapid rambling. "TheWayYouWentLikeBoomSlashKapowYAAAAWowWowWowThatWasSoCool-"

"Not one bit of concern for me?" Riku said, grinning lopsidedly.

Kairi whacked him on the back of the head. "Nope. You totally deserved that."

"That is also very fair." Riku drew back as Kairi and Sora surrounded Connie, drowning her in praise. Connie caught him giving her a brief thumbs-up out of the corner of her eye, accompanied by a genuine smile and a nod. She rolled her eyes, then returned the nod. 

"Lights, I just wish I'd been able to move like that when I was fighting these idiots." Kairi sighed, staring at Connie's sword wistfully.

Connie gulped. "I, uh. I can teach you, if-"

"You would?"

"Why not?"

"YesYesYesYesYES! When can we start?"

"As soon as tomorrow."

Sora raised his index finger. "Um, can you t-"

"No."

"Awwwwww. Are you  _ sure _ ?"

"Yep. Kairi is gonna need an unresponsive dummy if she's going to train with me, and you're the perfect candidate."

"HEY!" Despite the insult, Sora laughed, and was quickly joined by the rest of the group.

As the sun started to set and the four of them began pushing the boat back out to sea, talking, laughing, joking, throwing water in each other's faces (even Riku joined in), as they all stared in awed silence at the beauty of the night sky while they sailed back to the main island, as Connie and Kairi bid their farewells to Sora and Riku and wound through the town's quiet streets and towards the villa, as they tucked themselves into their beds and wished each other good nights...

Connie's smile refused to fade.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Starchaser Codex is now up for those interested in my updated worldbuilding rambles.


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